Following disappointing financial results and a loss of market edge, Samsung is exiting the LED business by 2030, shifting its focus to more ‘promising’ areas like power semiconductors and Micro LED technology.
Global tech giant Samsung is reportedly ending its LED production as part of a business restructuring effort. According to a report by China’s CCTV Finance last month, Samsung Electronics’ semiconductor division opted to exit the light-emitting diode (LED) sector.
The decision to withdraw from the LED business follows underwhelming financial performance. Samsung’s preliminary third-quarter results, released on October 8, revealed that both profit and revenue fell short of market expectations.
Samsung plans to stop manufacturing LED chips for lighting by mid-2026, phase out the LED backlight business for TVs by the second half of 2026, and exit the automotive LED sector by 2030.
Although sales increased by 17.2% year-on-year, reaching 79 trillion KRW, they were lower than the forecasted 81.57 trillion KRW. Operating profit saw a 274.5% annual increase, down 12.8% from the previous quarter and missed analysts’ expectations of 11.5 trillion KRW.
This came after South Korean media outlet Newsway reported in September that Samsung’s Device Solutions (DS) division intends to gradually discontinue LED lighting production at its Giheung campus by 2030. The majority of affected employees are expected to be reassigned to Samsung’s semiconductor facilities.
Furthermore, Samsung’s exit will include LED backlights for ‘QLED’ LCD TVs. According to several industry reports, the company plans to gradually phase out LED manufacturing by the end of this decade, citing a decline in the business’s competitive advantage.
According to Maeil Business News Korea, Samsung Electronics has chosen to exit its non-essential LED operations within the DS division. The LED business, which includes products like TV LED modules, smartphone flash LEDs, and automotive LED modules, generates approximately 2 trillion won in annual revenue. However, Samsung plans to redirect its focus towards more critical business areas.
Samsung entered the LED lighting market in 2012 through its merger with Samsung LED. However, the business has struggled in recent years, losing its competitive edge globally. Despite around 10.4 billion RMB in annual sales, Samsung determined that the LED division’s contribution to overall revenue was too small to justify its profitability goals.
As a result, the company plans to shift its focus on more promising areas, such as power semiconductors and Micro LED technology. Power semiconductors are essential in electric vehicles, smartphones, energy storage, and home appliances.
Samsung is expected to redeploy staff to its semiconductor, micro-LED, memory, and foundry divisions, signalling that work on micro-LED displays will persist.
